When I started balding I was so insecure, then I found a miracle

Young men affected by hair loss are increasingly turning to a baldness solution that avoids both drugs and costly transplant surgery.

Salons across the UK are offering so-called ‘hair systems’ – custom-made hairpieces bonded to the scalp and styled to blend seamlessly with existing hair.

Sometimes referred to as ‘the new toupee’, the hair systems cost between £150 and £600 and can deliver dramatic, natural-looking results in under an hour.

The trend has gained traction on social media, where videos of the transformations regularly attract millions of views.

One of the salons that has gone viral is The Hair Repair Club in Derby, which has more than 22,000 followers on Instagram.

Owner Adam Fletcher, known online as the ‘toupee king’, said: ‘There has been a massive growth in demand for hair systems over the past few years, as the quality of the product has improved significantly. The main appeal is that it is non-surgical with an instant transformation.

‘These are people who have often been struggling for years with the impact of their hair loss, and we are able to offer a quick but long-lasting fix.’

Experts say that it is unsurprising that the hair system craze has taken off as a cheaper solution to deal with the impact of hair loss.

Dr David Fenton, a dermatologist specialising in hair loss, said: ‘You can’t underestimate the psychological impact that balding or thinning hair can have on a person, including anxiety and depression.

‘Particularly for younger people, it makes up a huge amount of their self esteem, so rapid loss can have a great impact.’

About 6.5 million men in the UK experience hair loss of some sort.

What causes it can vary. The most common form, called male pattern baldness, is linked to genetics, meaning it runs in the family. Some may develop alopecia areata, where the immune system mistakenly attacks the scalp tissue, making hair fall out in patches. Stress can also trigger the problem.

In the UK, millions of men take drugs, such finasteride and minoxidil, which are proven to slow down – or even reverse – hair loss.

Thousands every year also pay for a hair transplant – a surgical procedure where hair follicles from one part of the scalp are removed and grafted into an area with less coverage.

Transplants, which usually cost around £5,000, are not always successful. And in some cases, where patients may have advanced hair loss, the procedure is unlikely to work.

Systems, however, are effective for all patients, regardless of the cause of their hair loss.

The pieces are usually made from individually woven strands of human hair, which is matched to a customer’s existing hair colour and texture. These are then incorporated into a cap-like structure that is then affixed to the scalp with adhesive.

The hair systems can be worn during exercise, including swimming, and need to be replaced only every three to nine months.

Maintenance involves removing the system, washing the hair and reapplying the glue once a month – this can be done at a salon, much like having a hair cut, or by the owner at home.

Fletcher says: ‘Hair systems offer a denser head of hair than a transplant would deliver and can be tailored to the client’s need.

‘We are starting to get customers who already had expensive transplants but they didn’t get the results they were after.’

One patient who benefited from a hair system is Josh Kent, 29, from Norfolk, who claims his life was transformed after having the piece fitted two years ago.

The sales executive began losing his hair in his late teens.

Josh says: ‘My hair brought me massive insecurity growing up – I wouldn’t leave the house without layers of hairspray to push it forward. I would be really conscious of doing anything that would make it fall out of place – like swimming with friends.’

Initially, like many men in his situation, he thought the answer to his problem was a hair transplant. However, he was told by a private hair surgeon his loss was too advanced for this to be an option.

After coming across The Hair Repair Club on social media, he made a three-hour trip to get a hair system. At £500, it was just a fraction of what Josh had been quoted for a transplant.

During an initial one-hour consultation, Josh was able to choose the colour, the density and way he wanted to style his hair.

Two weeks later he returned to the salon for it to be fitted and styled, which took an hour.

Josh says: ‘The system has massively changed my life. I went in lacking confidence and had struggled dating – but having a hair system has changed that.

‘People do not believe it is not my hair, and my family and friends were shocked at the transformation. I don’t tell people, unless they ask, which they rarely do.’

Fletcher says: ‘While many clients are very open about wearing a hair system, I do have some who have not even told their girlfriends. If they have been coming to me before dating their current partner, they often do not feel the need to tell them as they will not have seen them before.’

At present there are only a handful of hair system specialists in the UK, but given their increasing popularity that could soon change.

Fletcher adds: ‘This is a trend that will definitely keep growing.’